Cooper's big 3

Produced by Sarah Kleiner Varble; Hosted by Brien Murphy; Graphics by John Valles; Benchwarmers: Daniel Youngblood, Evan Ren and Sam Waller; Special thanks to The Zone, 4638 South 14th Street

Reporter-News photo by

The Cooper Cougars have gotten off to a 2-0 start in Mike Spradlin's third season as coach and moved up to No. 4 in the Class 4A state rankings.

Among the reasons Spradlin pointed to are the leadership and maturity provided by the team's 33 seniors.

Three of those seniors -- running back A'mon Pimpton, defensive back Will Ford and linebacker Brandon Henderson -- are in their third season as starters. They are also team captains, taking on more responsibility in the locker room in addition to what they do on the field.

"What's cool is I've seen those guys mature to a level where the confidence they're playing with is tremendous. I think that comes with experience. You're looking at guys who have now started 23 ballgames, and that helps," Spradlin said.

"They've all matured, they're doing a good job in the classroom and they're all captains for us. I'm real proud of what they're doing right now."

Each produced the type of plays expected of them in last week's 42-21 victory over Saginaw Boswell. With Cooper trailing 7-0 and pinned inside its 10-yard line, Pimpton ran for 60 yards on his first carry to spark a scoring drive. Ford scored on an 83-yard punt return after Cooper again fell behind.

A 21-14 Cougar lead was threatened when Boswell drove to the Cooper 2. On third down, Henderson and Joshua'e Robinson stopped Boswell's Dante' Lipscomb for no gain. On the next play, Ford intercepted a pass in the end zone.

"That's why they're team captains," Spradlin said. "They weren't just voted on by a small percentage of votes. Most of them got well into 80-90 percent of the votes to be team captains.

"I think it goes back to their maturity. They understand that this is their last year here and I've told them that they need to experience and enjoy it. I think they're doing that."

Each of the three approaches their task in different ways.

For Ford, stepping into a leadership role is a natural progression.

"It's just the way the team works," he said. "We just have to go out and try to be leaders.

"I think this is going to be the best year we've had since I've been on varsity. We've come together as a team and we're executing and doing all we can."

Pimpton said he likes providing a positive example for his teammates.

"I feel like if I set my standards high and try to achieve those goals, then everybody's standards will be high," he said. "That will make us a better team."

For Henderson, performing captain's duties require a conscious effort to go against his nature.

"That's not normally me," he said. "What I usually do is go be on my own and think about what just happened by myself. But the coaches have told me as I've grown up that I need to be around the other players and let them know that the game's not over, there's still time on the clock and we can turn things around.

"When we're not doing so good, the team looks at me. If I'm over there by myself, they won't feed off of that good. I try to be around the team and encourage them and tell them if we play the next series, we'll get there."

Each of the captains also has dealt with special circumstances during their careers.

Pimpton was thrust into the role of featured back before the 2007 season when JoJo Jones suffered a knee injury during 7-on-7 play. Ford, who has committed to Texas Tech, and Henderson, who has committed to SMU, both had to deal with recruiting attention. And Henderson switched from the defensive line at the start of the preseason.

Spradlin said Pimpton responded in outstanding fashion last year, rushing for 1,096 yards as the Cougars qualified for the playoffs.

"I saw a different A'mon when JoJo hurt his knee," Spradlin said. "A'mon kind of stepped in there. You could tell he realized he was going to have to carry the load. He's dynamite is a small package. He's done such a good job of preparing for the wear and tear a running back has to take."

Pimpton said the situation helped prepare him for this season.

"Now I've experienced everything and nothing's new to me," he said. "I'm used to everything, so when we get into a bad situation the guys look up to me. If they see me calm and collected and ready to make plays, they feed off that energy."

Ford received numerous scholarship offers over the summer, committing first to Oklahoma before switching to Texas Tech.

"He couldn't have handled it better," Spradlin said. "He wanted to (commit early) and get it all out of the way. Now he's focused on being a great Cougar -- and he really is.

"Brandon went through the same thing with SMU. A'mon's getting some attention, and deservedly so. They've all handled it well and they're committed to what we're doing."

In moving to linebacker, Henderson has made quick strides despite being on what Spradlin called a short learning curve.

"A lot of it is technique," Henderson said. "Our coaches rely on us to read off our technique and go make plays. I think a little bit of it is instinct because I played there before when I was younger. I like getting to the ball and landing a hit, so every chance I get I make sure I deliver a big one."

As much as they bring to the field, Spradlin said one of the trio's biggest contributions has been in building team unity.

"They kind of know how to help a team mature," he said. "We're starting five sophomores right now, and they're helping those guys. The difference is two years ago when they were sophomores, they didn't get treated the way they're treating these guys.

"They weren't welcomed as much as they've welcomed guys like Khole Jackson, Khaeer Sonnier, Matt Freeman, Ty Robinson and Joshua'e Robinson. They've made this more of a team. They've taken their role as leaders and said sophomore, junior or senior, we've all got to line up and play. I think that's what them playing as sophomores did."